March 21, 2012

Curried Red-Lentil Soup with Dried Cherries and Cilantro

Martha Stewart Living (March 2012)

We've had a crush on red lentils for a few months.

It all started innocently enough. On kind of whim, we bought a variety of lentils from the bulk section of the organic market up the street from our house. (Yes, purchasing bulk lentils at an organic market qualifies as a "whim" Chez Bitten.)

While we enjoyed all the lentil we sampled, it was the red lentils that had us hooked. We can't tell you how many times this winter we ate cooked red lentils with some fresh basil (well, fresh-frozen basil) stirred in. It's a plain but very satisfying lunch -- and a very healthy one.

But that's where our lentil project plateaued. We had grand plans to make other lentil dishes, but we got stuck in Red-Lentils-with-Basil Land, and we never left.

So we were very happy to see this Curried Red-Lentil Soup with Dried Cherries and Cilantro from Martha Stewart Living.

This was new flavor territory for us, particularly the coconut milk, which we almost never cook with. And we weren't sure about the combination of curry, cherries, coconut and cilantro, but we were eager to give it a go. The flavors are fantastic together! The coconut milk adds a rich creaminess and a hint of sweet, and the dried cherries were a beautiful contrast to the heat of the curry.

We ended up substituting parsley for cilantro, mostly because we needed a bunch of parsley for another dish (and we're not good about using up cilantro). We loved the zing of freshness it added.

Soup weather may be on the wane in our nation's capital. But this dish is perfect as a satisfying spring soup.

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Curried Red-Lentil Soup with Dried Cherries and Cilantro

Martha Stewart Living (March 2012)

We've had a crush on red lentils for a few months.

It all started innocently enough. On kind of whim, we bought a variety of lentils from the bulk section of the organic market up the street from our house. (Yes, purchasing bulk lentils at an organic market qualifies as a "whim" Chez Bitten.)

While we enjoyed all the lentil we sampled, it was the red lentils that had us hooked. We can't tell you how many times this winter we ate cooked red lentils with some fresh basil (well, fresh-frozen basil) stirred in. It's a plain but very satisfying lunch -- and a very healthy one.

But that's where our lentil project plateaued. We had grand plans to make other lentil dishes, but we got stuck in Red-Lentils-with-Basil Land, and we never left.

So we were very happy to see this Curried Red-Lentil Soup with Dried Cherries and Cilantro from Martha Stewart Living.